Broadcast

Washington (6-2) vs. California (4-3) Game Preview

One Reason Why Washington Will Win

Washington is one missed vs. Oregon field goal away from being deep in the hunt for the College Football Playoff. It might not be ripping teams apart, and it’s taking a big push to get by some mediocre squads, but the formula is effective.

Own third downs, don’t commit penalties, play great defense, control the clock.

Cal is good in all of those areas, but there’s one big difference – Washington has an efficient passing game.

Jake Browning is a veteran who’s been good enough to be a steadying force for the offense. He might have struggled a bit against Colorado, and he hasn’t thrown more than one touchdown pass in five of the last six games, but he’s keeping the O moving.

Star RB Myles Gaskin is still iffy with a shoulder problem, but Salvon Ahmed has been a good option for about ten carries per game, and the diminutive Sean McGrew stepped up last week against Colorado.

It might not always be gorgeous, but Washington continues to find ways to win.

Related

One Reason Why California Will Win

The Cal pass defense has been fantastic.

The offense might have had turnover problems lately, but the Bears have been great at keeping Pac-12 passing games under wraps. So far this season, Justin Herbert and Oregon have the only attack to get over 200 yards through the air, and he’s the only one to hit Cal with two touchdown passes.

The Bears haven’t allowed a scoring pass in the last two games, have given up just two touchdowns on the year, and picked off ten throws.

Jake Browning is good, but he’s not about to throw for 250 yards on this secondary.